Lake City, Charter girls win openers
GIRLS
5A
IDAHO FALLS — Before the match, and again after a scoreless first half, Lake City girls soccer coach Matt Ruchti knew what his team was up against.
“I told them going into the game and that we needed to ready to play each kind of game,” he said.
Thursday was the kind that involved finding a way late.
Maddy Lasher scored twice in the final 15 minutes to send the Timberwolves past the Eagle Mustangs in the opening round of the state 5A tournament at the Idaho Falls Soccer Complex.
“We had to be ready to play any kind of match today,” Ruchti said. “We could have grinded one out, or outscored them, but had to be ready to play each kind of match. We connected on some diagonal balls in the second half, Maddy had a couple of big goals, and so did Hannah (Clarke, who opened the scoring in the 43rd minute for Lake City). Today, it was about grinding out a game and finding a way to win. We had a good day on the back line, and it was a solid win for everybody.”
Lake City (14-2) faces Rocky Mountain (13-3-2) of Meridian in a semifinal match today at 1 p.m. PDT. Rocky Mountain beat Highland of Pocatello 2-0 on Thursday.
Hailey Jo Parks had four saves for Lake City before leaving with a shin injury following a collision with an Eagle player in the 70th minute. Marlee Lambert had two saves in the final 10 minutes to seal the win.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything more out of them,” Ruchti said. “Sometimes, it’s harder to come off the bench instead of starting, but I couldn’t be more proud of Marlee and securing the win.”
First half — none. Second half — 1, LC, Hannah Clarke (Bridget Rieken), 43:00. 2, Eag, unknown, 58:00. 3, LC, Maddy Lasher (Rieken), 65:00. 4, LC, Lasher (Kali McKelips), 75:00.
Shots on goal — Eag 6, LC 15.
Saves — Eag, unknown, 12; LC, Hailey Jo Parks 4, Marlee Lambert 2.
3A
Cd’A Charter 2
Teton 0
TWIN FALLS — Sarah Hines scored both goals in the first 22 minutes as the Panthers, the two-time defending state champions, posted their 16th shutout of the season, blanking the Redskins in the first round of the state 3A girls tournament at Sunway Soccer Complex.
Coeur d’Alene Charter (19-0-0) will play Marsh Valley (17-1-1) in a semifinal game today at 1 p.m. PDT. Marsh Valley defeated Declo 9-0.
“We came out strong and were able to control the first 25 minutes with a few goals,” Charter coach Stacy Smith said. “Teton has some strong physical players that we haven’t seen all season so it was a great test for our midfield and back line. We weren’t perfect today, but I’m proud of the girls for rising to the challenge and hanging on when the going got tough. At this point, we’re just happy for the ‘W’ and looking forward to getting focused on tomorrow’s matchup against Marsh Valley.”
Teton fell to 11-6-0.
First half — 1, Charter, Sarah Hines (Isabella Lucky), 8:00. 2, Charter, Hines (unassisted), 22:00. Second half — none.
Shots on goal — Charter 16, Teton 4.
Saves — Charter, Sandy Faulkner 4; Teton, Kinley Baler 7.
Bliss 5
Timberlake 0
TWIN FALLS — The Tigers, at state for the first time since the program started in 2014, were blanked by the Bears in the first round of the state 3A boys tournament at the Sunway Soccer Complex.
Timberlake (10-8-0) will face Sugar-Salem (16-2-1) today at 10 a.m. PDT in a loser-out match. Bliss (11-3-5) plays Filer in a semifinal.
BOYS
5A
Boise 1
Lake City 0
IDAHO FALLS — A slow start for the Timberwolves ended with a Goode result for the Braves.
Jack Goode scored on an assist from Sam Zimmer in the 14th minute, and Boise held off previously unbeaten Lake City in an opening round match at the state 5A tournament at the Idaho Falls Soccer Complex.
“We unfortunately picked the wrong game to not play as well as I know we can,” Lake City coach Alan Rich said. “After our amazing regular season, we really wanted to represent North Idaho and the city of Coeur d’Alene with a state championship.”
Lake City (14-1-0) will face Rigby (6-8-3) in a loser-out match today at 10 a.m. PDT.
“This team is resilient and we will rebound and refocus for tomorrow’s game,” Rich said. “It’s been a pleasure to coach this team all season and I look forward to the next two games.”
First half — 1, Boise, Jack Goode (Sam Zimmer), 14:00. Second half — none.
Shots on goal — LC 3, Boise 6.
Saves — LC, Chase Norris, 5; Boise, unknown, 3.
Rocky Mountain 5
Coeur d’Alene 2
IDAHO FALLS — The Vikings played even with the Grizzlies in the second half, but a 3-0 halftime deficit was too much to overcome in a first-round loss at the state 5A tournament at the Idaho Falls Soccer Complex.
Forward Ethan Bengtzen scored a hat trick for Rocky Mountain (14-2-1), and center midfielder Kristian Quiros added two goals.
“I think we came out a little intimidated; they had 15 seniors and we had five,” Coeur d’Alene coach Braden Ridgewell said. “Just size-wise, you could tell they were bigger. And they had a ton of athleticism.”
Jason Lukes and Chris Swider scored in the second half for Coeur d’Alene (11-5-0), which plays first-year school Thunder Ridge of Idaho Falls today at 10 a.m. PDT in a loser-out game.
“But I’m proud of the guys; we weren’t expected to take it this far,” Ridgewell said. “To be able to step up (in the second half) and play with the No. 1-seeded team in Idaho, we’re taking that as a mental win.”
First half — 1, Rocky, Ethan Bengtzen, 5:00. 2, Rocky, Kristian Quiros, 17:00. 3, Rocky, Bengtzen, 23:00. Second half — 4, Cd’A, Jason Lukes (Noah Cobb), 41:00. 5, Rocky, Bengtzen, 45:00. 6, Rocky, Quiros, 50:00. 7, Cd’A, Chris Swider (Cooper Hansen), 72:00.
Shots on goal — Cd’A 8, Rocky 15
Saves — Cd’A, Cooper Proctor, 5; Rocky, 5.
3A
Sun Valley
Comm. School 2
Timberlake 0
TWIN FALLS — The Tigers lost to the unbeaten Cutthroat Trout in the first round of the state 3A girls tournament at Sunway Soccer Complex.
Timberlake (11-6-1) will play Weiser (11-5-3) in a loser-out game today at 10 a.m.
Sun Valley Community School (19-0-0) will play Sugar-Salem in a semifinal match.